June 11, 2007
Shiloh Properties Update
I've been getting a rather large volume of email asking for an update on the Shiloh Baptist Church properties I posted about every day for a week back in May. As you'll recall, the city condemned four properties on 9th St. NW owned by Shiloh Baptist Church, and ordered them to complete repairs on the buildings by a date certain (we originally estimated the date being May 31, but it turned out they were only counting business days, so the actual deadline was June 5). These properties have been neglected for decades and a source of great frustration for the Shaw neighborhood, due to their unsafe, unsanitary conditions.
To date, four days past the official deadline set by the city for repair work to be completed, no work has even started despite promises to comply by the church leadership. Mayor Fenty has said that should Shiloh fail to complete the required repairs, he would order the work done and place on a lien on the properties to force the church to pay for them. DCRA spokesperson Karyn-Siobhan Robinson tells us that as of today, no action has been taken on the properties, but that the D.C. Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings will hold its regular semi-monthly meeting at DCRA this Wednesday, June 13, and the Shiloh properties are on the agenda. We'll be sure to update on Thursday when we know what happened at the meeting.
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Sommer:
Have you asked Shiloh for a comment? Just wondering.
Call up Jack Evans and demand he step in to make sure Shiloh doesn't avoid the penalties.
I'm beginning to see a pattern with this mayor's lack of follow through on his big claims.
I was willing to give Fenty a chance but am starting to believe that he is a master showboater with little ability to fulfill his commitments. If he said the city would do the work when Shiloh failed to do so, then on June 6th the city should have been out there doing the work.
Empty promises will make for a one-term mayorship.....let's see how long Eastern Market and the G'tow library sit around before work starts on them.
After decades of offering many words but no action, I personally don't really care what Shiloh has to say about these properties.
Do you have the time and location for Wed's meeting?
I assume this is open to the public?
Shiloh members break the law and create hazardous conditions every week, by double-parking their cars on busy streets, including 9th--why would anyone expect to follow the law here--they've been breaking it for DECADES.
The last time I went to a Condemnation hearing was in the Williams' Admin, about 3 years ago. Everyone sat around a twelve (or so) seat table in a small room. There were no provisions for access by the general public, or recording, video, or transcription. Roberts Rules most certainly did not apply. 5 city employees, one representative from a historic group, an attorney for the defendant, and myself as a representative for the local ANC. I could be described as a tense meeting.
Addendum: It was not about Shiloh properties.
Anyone have ties to the local TV news media? Might be good to have them cover the "results" of the DCRA hearing on Wednesday...and keep the pressure on the Mayor to act...
I've emailed all known contacts at DCRA and called them and no one has given me the location, time, or any additional details about this meeting. Obviously nothing shocking - but I ask that others continue to inquire about this as the public has a right to know.
As far as Eastern Market goes, they're definitely working on a temporary structure and fixing the South Building. I don't think it's fair to say he's a do-nothing because one issue has gone on for a few days past a deadline. There could be some back room negotiation we don't know about.
I'm wondering if anyone's worried that this will turn into yet another sandstone and grey steel condo building if Shiloh doesn't come through. While I would be thrilled if the properties were made useful, I don't know if I would be thrilled if they became more $500k condos.
I'm wondering if anyone's worried that this will turn into yet another sandstone and grey steel condo building if Shiloh doesn't come through. While I would be thrilled if the properties were made useful, I don't know if I would be thrilled if they became more $500k condos.
Why not? If there are people willing to pay $500k for condos in that area, then let the market provide them. I really can't see any possible circumstance in which abandoned buildings would be better for the neighborhood than an influx of high earners (and spenders).
with regard to neighborhood improvement, including the notion of fixing these buildings so that they could be useful, DONT BET ON IT. shiloh is the worst actor in the neigborhood, thwarting development or improvement of any kind. remember, it is shiloh members who tried to block a vegetarian restaurant, vegetate, and a family-owned ethiopian restaurant, queen of sheeba, from obtaining needed liquor licenses for restaurant viability. shiloh members (not one of whom live in shaw) would rather let the neighborhood rot.
From jason at treeboxvodka.com and as posted on
remakingleslumhistorique.blogspot.com
"If anyone is interested in going to learn more about the proceedings and see how these things work...
The meeting is:
11:30 AM
Wed
941 North Capitol Street NE
Room 9500"
If you can go to the hearing, please do. My wife has gone to several hearings for other properties. Often the "owners representative" lied and if she wasn't there would have gotten away with it. Herbert Johnson is good but the inspectors are apathetic. dcvacantproperties.blogspot.com
just got out of a disheartening meeting on the Shiloh unsanitary condemnations, where I found out that Shiloh only has to board up and seal the properties better and get rid of vermin (termites, rats) to make them sanitary -- and possibly shore up sagging floors and stairs -- all of which must be first approved and fussed over by Historic Preservation since it falls within our blessed Historic Slum. The church does not have to do diddlysquat about EVER making them habitable residences, like other vacant property owners. Shiloh has submitted a contract to do the work for the four condemned properties and four other soon-to-be-condemned properties that the condemination board has approved. The church may ultimatly squeal and plead poverty to Jack and beg for a reprieve on the condemnations --cut some slack, as it were -- like the Poh-leese do for church parking all week long. Other churches have done so and been saved the effort of caring about the communities they worship in.
To my neighbors in Shaw. I have been a member of Shiloh for less than 5 years. I'm a lifelong DC resident but have never lived in Shaw. However, I do sympathize with your concerns related to parking, community ammenities, and abandoned properties. I too have been impacted by these same issues over the years.
Shiloh is committed to making a difference in people's lives. Through an HIV/AIDS ministry, outreach to young neighborhood men, and a homeless ministry, the impact on the lives of those touched by this church is real (comraderie, support, college scholarships, food, etc). While these ministries positively impact the community the blight of our abandoned properties on the neighborhood is undeniable. The fact that they have been that way for years is not an excuse for why they should not change.
I congratulate your activism and dedication to the cause of improving the neighborhood. Your voices have been heard not only in the media and hallways of the Wilson Building but also in the sanctuary of Shiloh.
You are not wrong for wanting to live in a vibrant, clean and relevant neighborhood. At the core I believe that we all want the same things; we just need to understand one another missions in accomplishing those goals. We also need to be accountable to one another as neighbors so that at no point do we overlook the rights, wants or desires of those among us or those we represent.
I pray blessings for us all.